Ready, Steady, Go!

After the annual lull in the housing market over winter, the arrival of springs brings fresh buyers and can be a great time to sell a house. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to sell your house in this period, then the sooner you start preparing the better.

Why Now?

Spring has always been a popular time to sell a house, and for good reason. The increasing sunlight, longer days, warmer temperatures, and blooming flowers brings buyers out. The back drop of a blue sky always looks great in a photograph and warmer weather creates an ideal environment to present your house to it’s best advantage – especially for homes with lots of outdoor space.

Be aware though that the popularity of spring to sell houses means that many other sellers will also be looking to list their house. The best way to give your house a chance is for it to beat the competition to the market.

Ready

The first thing to do is to find an estate agent to work with. The best estate agent for you is the one that you feel confident can sell your home at the best price and one who you feel you can communicate with. Look for an agent with a proven track record and a good knowledge of the housing market in your local area. A good estate agent does make the process of selling your house easier and smoother, so it’s worth putting in the time to find the right one.

Once you’ve found the right estate agent for you, work with them to create a plan of what you need to do to sell your house. Decide with them the best time to commence marketing and ask them, what needs to be done? What should you do to improve your chances of a quick sale? Breaking down the process into smaller tasks will make it seem less overwhelming and allows you to decide which jobs need prioritising.

A good idea when deciding on your timeline is to get a pre-listing home inspection done. Rather than waiting and wondering if potential buyers will find something wrong, being proactive at this stage can minimise your stress later. By finding out what condition your home is in, you can accurately know what needs doing to give it the best chance of being sold. Seddons are happy to offer an initial property consultation to go through the process and advise you on anything we think would be beneficial to do before coming on to the market – contact your local branch for more information.

Steady

Once you’ve got your plan, it’s time to get to work.

Major repairs should be your first area to tackle. Wherever possible, it’s always better – and cheaper – to do the repairs yourself rather than wait for the buyer to ask for them done. Use your home inspection report and work with your estate agent to prioritise tasks.

After any repairs are done, use your time to make your house as appealing as possible. Move whatever you can out of your house to reduce clutter and make rooms look more spacious. Don’t underestimate the difference that a deep clean and a new coat of paint can give – first impressions really matter to buyers.

Go

Spring can be a great time to list a house, but not if you aren’t ready by then. Give yourself plenty of time by starting the process now so that you are ready to list your property early in Spring – Get in touch with your local Seddons branch for more information and a free valuation.